Surf Prodigy Erin Brooks Loses Olympic Bid for Team Canada at Paris 2024
The Olympic dreams died on Wednesday, February 28th for 16-year-old surfing phenom, Erin Brooks, and her hopes to represent Team Canada at Paris 2024.
Brooks, 16, was eliminated in the International Surfing Association’s World Surfing Games, currently underway in Puerto Rico, and although the qualification scenarios have yet to play out – six men and eight women will get the ticket to Teahupo’o, Tahiti – the news about Brooks was confirmed today by Canada’s Sportsnet.
And with that, this ends the long, controversial saga of Brooks’ bid for Olympic surfing under the Canadian flag.
It all started last summer, when then-15-year-old Brooks was banned from Team Canada after officials realized she was not a citizen. Then, she was stripped of her medals, which she won under the Canadian flag. Meanwhile, Brooks was working on acquiring Canadian citizenship, which was denied, then seemingly out of nowhere, approved.
For a little more background on the situation, and how it got so convoluted, Brooks was born in Texas, then raised in Hawaii. However, her father holds dual citizenship with America and Canada, so Brooks has opted to represent her Canadian roots for the ISA World Surfing Games and (hopefully) the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Related: Teenage Surfer Erin Brooks Granted Canadian Citizenship for Paris 2024 Olympics Bid
Following her surprise approval for citizenship, Brooks said in a statement:
"I love Canada. I have never been prouder to wear the Maple Leaf. To Minister Marc Miller and MP Jenny Kwan, you have changed my life. I believe that I will do something truly special for my country thanks to your gift of citizenship."
Not this time; there’s always the next Olympics, Los Angeles 2028.
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